Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1194984
Rene Harpin Spec Wood and Marketing Solutions Quebec, Canada n The lumber situation is all over the place. Hardwood cants are plentiful in some areas and tight supply in others. In many areas pal- let demand is strong but manpower limits what pallet manufactur- ers can produce. The solution: precut material. Availability of precut hardwood, aspen and softwood is steady and can help many manufacturers meet their customers' needs. Price is one variable. But cost is actually the result of price and waste factor. For many pallet manufacturers, the extra number of pallets, the capacity to meet requirements and use the full potential of nailing equipment justify buying precut material. Martin De la Rosa CEO Recipak Pallets San Luis Pitosi, Mexico n In Mexico, in the last two years I have seen more supply of softwood and hardwood domestically but also more imports, especially from Brazil. A steady exchange rate, peso vs U.S. dollar, makes 14 PalletCentral • November-December 2019 palletcentral.com LEADERSHIP How will Manufacturing Weather the Storm? T he coming year promises to be an ever-changing environment for manufacturers as they try to regain their footing amidst continued volatility in costs and policy decisions. While the potential for uncertainty may continue for the foreseeable future, manufacturing leaders should increase resilience in their operations and double down on the core of their portfolios. Levers to support this include building "digital muscle" across areas like the supply chain, mobilizing partnerships within their ecosystem to drive targeted business goals, and leaning into corporate social responsibility. Manufacturing leaders can begin by examining current supply networks and considering how they could build additional agility throughout, including adding digital technologies that increase visibility and transparency to drive the ability to flex production and resources as necessary." ~ Deloitte, 2020 Manufacturing Industry Outlook report, free download: https://bit.ly/2qtA7jw